The first time a college student meets a new person, the first question they get is: “What are you studying?” which is quickly followed by, “What are you going to do with that?” Sound familiar?

Society puts a great deal of pressure on students to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their livesas early as their freshman year of high school.

Parents may push their kids towards where the money is so that they know they will be able to provide for themselves, while students often just need some time to explore all of the options that are available to them. You likely know about the typical jobs available to people in your major, but the following list includes careers that you may not have thought of or heard about.

Industrial Designer

If you are creative and think that you won’t naturally fit into the world of industry, think again. Industrial designers develop the concepts for manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and toys. They combine art, business, and engineering to make products that people use every day, so this is a great way to combine lots of diverse talents while improving consumers’ lives.

A bachelor’s degree in industrial design, architecture, or engineering is usually required, and the college needs to be accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Depending on the type of products you might want to design, you may also need to participate in an internship

Social Media Community Manager

You may be able to put all of those hours you have spent on social media to work for you if you enjoy writing, working online and being on top of the latest cultural trends. This job is part marketing, part editorial and communications, and part branding. It is great for out-going people with strong communication skills, such as those with an English or other humanities degree.

Because social media is still so “young,” there is a great need in this unique field, and since big, long-standing companies are in dire need of employees who understand the concepts of online marketing and meeting online audience needs, jobs are very lucrative and plentiful.

Land Surveyor

If you enjoy math and love to be outside, this is a great option. Many land surveyors are ready for retirement, so it is a strong field to consider if you are heading to college. You will need a college degree, which will be followed up by an internship, though each state has different requirements.

This career is one that is often overlooked by those in an engineering or similar degree program, but one that provides a very healthy income.

Commerce Journalist

This career isn’t the type you would think of when you hear “journalist”; a commerce journalist is a new variety of part journalist and part advertising writer.

The job duties center around helping people find and buy the types of products they want by writing content for a company’s internet marketing (i.e., on a company’s blog or website and social media). This job didn’t even exist 7 years ago, so it is a field that you can get into without having a lot of experience. You can easily get a job in PR Agency.

You won’t see this degree program listed on college websites, but typically what is required is a BA in some form of communications or humanities. Of course, you also must have strong writing skills and be able to work independently, since many positions are done remotely. This fact also offers a great deal of flexibility. You may work exclusively for one company or, if you choose, could work as a freelance writer.

Court Stenographer

This is one of the original work-from-home jobs that often gets overlooked by college students. The benefits to this job include the fact that you can usually work as much as you wish, so you are in charge of your income.

You also work many of those hours from home. This allows for schedule flexibility and independence, so if you have strong grammar and language skills, you may want to consider this line of work. The program is approximately 3 year long.

Bioinfomatian

Now is a great time to be a computer/science nerd! Bioinfomatics is a field that is booming and is predicted to continue doing so in the future due to the growing amount of data being needed and used by companies from all sectors to determine just about anything imaginable.

If you enjoy working in a lab, crunching numbers and understand what is meant by “algorithms,” this might be the career for you. Students in the Bioinformatics program develop the skills necessary for analyzing the data being generated byproteomics, metabolomics, and other cutting-edge technologies.

This career involves biology, math, and computer science, as well as analyzing and interpreting data that you find from those fields.

Online Educator

As more and more online universities pop up, this career will continue to be in huge demand. Many of the current tenured educators are headed towards retirement and aren’t interested in learning all that is necessary to teach in the digital age, so this is an excellent field to consider if you love to teach and enjoy working with the latest software and popular online trends that engage students.

Jobs are available for college-level work, but also for high schools since online public high schools are in vogue. But the opportunities don’t stop there-even if you aren’t interested in earning the typical education degree, schools of all types are in need to employees who are highly-skilled in their field, and who can effectively communicate the relevant information to students.

Non-traditional schools such as those for DJ’s, writing and marketing are being built every day, which allows students with solid knowledge and skills in their field of study to work as an educator without the standard education degree.

Hearing Aid Practitioner/Audiologist

This career requires a grad degree, clinic hours, state certification, but the pay is great and jobs are plentiful. The work is rewarding too because audiologists help people communicate. And, the need for more audiologists continues to grow as Baby Boomers continue to age and need assistance with their hearing.

Degree programs include a BS with courses in linguistics, phonetics, psychology, speech and hearing, mathematics, biological sciences, physical sciences and social sciences. To become an audiologist, you will need to earn a Doctor of Audiology degree or AuD, which usually takes four years after earning a bachelor’s degree.

Hospital Equipment Technician

If you enjoy working with your hands as well as your head, you might consider this career. Because people’s lives literally depend on medical machines in hospitals and clinics working correctly all of the time, companies who repair them can name their own price! This field often includes an internship or apprenticeship that is frequently paid.

This career is also recession-proof since people get ill regardless of what the economy is doing. This career also affords students to build their own businesses, which is a plus to some.  Communicate With Your Roommate

Do you want to work in the medical field, but don’t want to commit to the years it takes to become a doctor? If so, you may find this career a great alternative!

There is currently a shortage of anesthesiology assistants, so you would be in demand and have the potential to easily make six figures! The profession requires a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in the sciences, such as chemistry and biology, anda master’s degree. If possible, students should attend an accredited college or university with a good science or pre-med program.

Speech Writer

Love rhetoric, but tired of being told that it is a worthless degree? Well, that may not be the case. One career that is often overlooked by students with the ability to sway others with words is a speech writer. But who needs such a person? Politicians for one. CEO’s of multi-million companies for another. So if you are interested in political sciences, marketing, big business, etc. and have the gift of rhetorical gab, this is one to consider!

The career offers excitement, travel, rubbing shoulders with important folks, as well as big money. A degree in some sort of communications or humanities is recommended.

Mortician/Funeral director

Obviously, this isn’t the job for everyone, but what job is? Besides the immediate aspects of the job that probably jump to mind, this is a great job to have if you wish to own your own business. Many funeral homes are family-run, which is attractive to some people. The money is great too, as you know if you have ever lost someone close to you.

To become a funeral director you need, at the minimum, an associate degree in mortuary science from a program that is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Services Education and to complete a 1-3 year apprenticeship. However, many employers prefer job candidates to have a bachelor’s degree.

Photo by Queen’s College